Another Chance
by AlternativeRocker
Summary: Mainly a Stuart fic but with quite a bit of Robbie/Jackie :P Based on "A Taste Of Money" episode.


**A/N: **I started writing this the other night and then I woke up the next morning and found out Colin McCredie has been axed from Taggart. Anyone else think this may be a bad luck charm and that I shouldn't have moved away from my Robbie/Jackie safety blanket? This is, hopefully, mainly Stuart but this is me we're talking about so obviously there's Robbie/Jackie sprinkled in it the entire way through :)

**Spoiler: **First spoiler I've really ever had to give. This is based sometime after "A Taste Of Money" and this uses Tyler (Stuart's ex) and refers back to what happened in that episode a lot.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything in this but I feel as though we should take Stuart after he 'moves to the forensic unit'.

*******

**Another Chance**

*******

Stuart was sitting in the kitchen area with Robbie and Jackie. It was a Saturday morning and Burke wasn't working this particular morning so Robbie was supposedly in charge but of course Jackie was taking the lead so that the boys did some work, even if it was in the kitchen, or else they would be sitting around chatting and not doing anything important. He was playing around on his mobile as usual when he received a text. It came up with a name and number that he hadn't saw or heard from in a while: Tyler Kennedy.

The text read, "Hi Stuart. Do you fancy meeting up for dinner tonight. I need to talk to you. Tyler x" Stuart had no idea whether to read the kiss at the end as just a signing off mark or something more but despite this he ended up smiling at it. Jackie looked over at him, wondering what was making her friend look this happy. She knew better than most how long it had took Stuart to recover from that night when he had went to his ex boyfriend's flat and found out from his neighbour that Tyler already had company.

"What's got you grinning like a Cheshire bloody cat?!"

"Tyler just sent me a text asking me out later."

Robbie looked over from the coffee machine which he was hitting to make work. Jackie knew exactly what was wrong with the machine but she loved seeing him getting angry with something because it made it seem as though it was smarter than him. Robbie was staring at him in astonishment, "Wait a second Stuarty. Tyler as in the guy who was there in that restaurant case? Stuart you can't, mate."

"Why not Robbie?! You might be content enough making your way round all of Glasgow's women, all the while breaking the breaking the heart of the only woman you've ever truly loved," he said, beckoning in Jackie's direction, "but that isn't me!"

Jackie's mouth was hanging open as she stood up from her seat and started to shout at her young friend, "Don't you dare bring me in to this Stuart! Can you not remember the endless weeks that I spent trying to help you get over Tyler?!"

"Well you're hardly a perfect example of getting over men, are you? First you tried to get over Robbie by marrying Brian and when that ended you resorted to just ignoring your feelings for your superior officer."

"Shut up Stuart." By this time Jackie could feel that a couple of tears had escaped down on to her cheeks and as she reached up to brush them away Robbie couldn't contain his anger any longer. He had been able to cope with Stuart shouting insults at him but seeing him do it to Jackie was the tip of the iceberg.

"Get out Stuart!"

"What? Why?!"

"Because I said so. Now get lost!"

Stuart muttered a few curses towards both of his friends but did as he was ordered, grabbing his coat and getting ready to send a text accepting Tyler's offer.

Back in the office's kitchen Jackie had sat back down while leaning her chin on her clenched fists, willing her tears to stop falling before Robbie stopped stomping round the room to notice how badly Stuart's words had hurt her. Unfortunately he calmed down far quicker than she expected and when he saw the large droplets of water streaming freely down her face. He pulled a chair around so that he was right next to her and started off by gently rubbing her back but as she didn't seem to be stopping he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her close to his body. He had never saw Jackie this upset and it scared him because if he didn't have her strength to guide him then he would be nothing.

"Jackie, it'll be okay. Stuart didn't mean what he said." Robbie tried to make himself believe what he was saying as he kissed Jackie's hair.

"Yes he did Robbie, you know as well as I do that he was serious about ever word he said."

Robbie took a deep breath and whispered in to her ear, "Just tell me was it the truth; have I really been breaking your heart all this time and you're now just ignoring your feelings?"

"No... Yes," she began to smile, "Of course it was the bloody truth! I don't see how you haven't noticed... Was it true about you loving me?"

"Yeah. I didn't even know it myself until a few months ago." She looked up at him through her eyelashes and tears as he put a finger under her chin and brought her lips up to touch his.

When they broke it off Robbie wiped away the tears that were still on her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs, "Do you want to go home now Jackie?"

"Weren't we supposed to be here to work?"

"Mehh, I'm in charge, I'll choose when my staff go home on the weekends."

"No wonder you aren't being promoted any time soon."

"Hey!" She just looked at him with a smirk and placed a hand on his cheek and kissed him again. He stood up and held his hand out for her to take, she accepted it and felt him squeeze her fingers slightly, it was all the assurance she needed that he would be there for her.

*******

It was eight o'clock and Stuart was waiting patiently for his date to arrive. It felt strange to be calling Tyler that after all they had been through. Stuart hadn't thought he would see Tyler never mind fall for him after their first separation, let alone go on another date after the past two attempts at a relationship with him.

Stuart saw Tyler come across the restaurant to the table where there was already a glass of wine sitting for him, so stood up. Stuart wasn't sure whether he was supposed to shake hands since they hadn't saw each other in months or kiss him on the cheek since they had already been intimate. In the end it didn't matter because Tyler just sat down after smiling at his ex-lover.

"Hey Stuart. Glad you agreed to this."

"Tyler. Well I couldn't refuse an opportunity to see my old friend again."

Half an hour later Stuart and Tyler were sitting with their meals but Stuart still had no real idea why he had been asked out because Tyler had made no attempt to ask him out again, it was all just pleasantries and comments about the restaurant and food.

After another ten minutes Stuart gave up with the small talk. He needed to know what was going on between the two of them. "Look Tyler, why did you want to see me?"

"I wanted to apologise for that night when you came back to the building. I didn't think you would want to see me again so I went out on a bender and picked someone up. If I had known you were coming round I would have been ecstatic!"

Stuart closed his eyes and gently shook his head before opening them again and looking over at he partner, "Tyler it took me months to get over you both times in the past. I don't think I'll be able to go through that all over again."

"You think I asked you here to start up a relationship again? No. I'm sorry, I did just come here to apologise Stuart."

Stuart's eyebrows knitted together and he ran a hand through his blond hair, "How the hell has it took you three quarters of an hour to say this?!"

"I thought you knew. That neighbour you spent the night drinking with, Val, she's been on at me for ages to meet up with you to explain and then when I saw you I chickened out. I didn't mean to give you false hope. God," he put his head in his hands, "I'm sorry for everything Stuart."

"So Robbie and Jackie were right? I shouldn't have came here at all!" He now realised how cruel he had been towards them earlier so picked his coat up from the back of the seat and walked out without as much as a goodbye.

*******

Stuart walked down one of the streets and decided to go to the only place where he knew there would be unlimited alcohol and the two people who he knew would never let him down. He kept going over the argument that he had started in the station that morning, and hated himself for it. They were his best friends; the only two people who had stuck by him through all his ups and downs and he had said those things to both of them. Yes what he had said was by all means the God's honest truth but he shouldn't have said Jackie's secrets in front of Robbie and vice versa. He just prayed that they would forgive him.

He knocked on the door and waited a few moments. Inside the flat Robbie gave the brunette who was snuggled up to his side a quick kiss which missed her mouth completely and she couldn't help but grin at him as he went across the room. Jackie and Robbie had been sitting on the couch chatting, they had spent the day in bed and had just decided to get dressed a little while before they heard the door.

Robbie opened the door and sighed when he saw Stuart standing there. The only problem was that he could see that Stuart was upset for some reason and could assume that he and Tyler hadn't worked out how Stuart had hoped.

"Is there any chance of a drink available for a stupid prick who wishes he had never insulted his two best friends?"

Robbie gave a small grin towards his friend, "Stuart what you said to us this morning was what Jackie and I had to hear. And if truth be told if that hadn't happened I would not have had the best sex of my life this afternoon!"

"You mean-"

"Yeah, Jackie is in my flat and we had just a little fun earlier on." He was trying to act as though she was just another casual fling but neither could deny how happy Robbie sounded or that the smile and glint in his eye was about ten times bigger than it had ever been before.

"Come in you arse. By the way if you don't apologise to Jackie then I think I may have to kill you."

"Aww Robbie you're getting even more protective of her than before!" Stuart joked as he walked past Robbie in to the apartment and the older man hit him on the back of the head.

When he got in to the living room Jackie was standing up in the doorway to the kitchen after hearing who it was at the door. She rolled her eyes and made her face light up with a smile as she walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck. Stuart was her best friend and although she had been pained by his words she understood why he had got annoyed, she would have to make Robbie and herself promise not to interfere with Stuart's life so much in the future; Jackie knew it was only because they felt very paternal over Stuart but they would have to let him make his own mistakes. She could see Robbie pouting behind Stuart's back, "Don't even dare get jealous of a hug we all know you'll get more than a hug later since you now aren't so oblivious to my feelings!"

"I can't bloody wait!" Stuart just smiled at his friends, but he was close to telling them to be quiet because it was like hearing about his parents displays of love with these two in the room. Tyler was almost forgotten about after a while because Robbie had found reasonably strong alcohol and had shared it out, so now the two guys were drunk enough to have forgot what they were talking about and Jackie was looking on, quite tipsy herself, as she settled into the crook of Robbie's arm and fell asleep while the two most important people just smiled at her and then got back to discussing whatever topics they felt like.

*******

**The End.**


End file.
